Top Ranking
by fl00donthefloor
Summary: Lexa Wilde is an agent of the NSA, equipped with The Intersect - a super-computer designed to be downloaded into an agent's brain chemistry. Her next assignment is to pose as a college student, and extract information from Clarke Griffin and her team, presumed to be a part of an anti-NSA organization. Little does she know how much more there is to to the story...
1. Chapter 1

It all starts in The Basement. It always does.

The Basement is an NSA base, surreptitiously placed underneath a storage warehouse in the middle of God Knows Fucking Where; Lexa Wilde and her team have been using it as their base since they first formed. They gather in front of the projected monitor in the conference room, waiting for their next assignment.

They've just finished combatting a team of bombers in Prague, but they're not too tired for a fresh mission - they never are.

The screen goes blank for a moment, and soon enough, Gustus Terram appears on the screen. He's dressed in his general uniform decorated with badges, sitting at his usual spot, in his office. "Good evening, team. And a job well done in Prague."

Lexa nods in acknowledgement. "Thank you, General."

Anya and Indra murmur their thanks from behind her.

General Terram doesn't miss another beat. Always straight to the point. "Now, as you may be aware, there was an attack placed on Director Jaha last week. He survived, but he's in critical condition."

Another nod from Lexa. Thelonious Jaha is the director of the NSA, responsible for the construction of The Intersect Program. The man is brilliant. Terrifying, ruthless, but brilliant.

(All that Lexa aspires to be.)

"Our top suspect for the assailant is Bellamy Blake." The general's screen is replaced by a photo of a rather scruffy-looking black-haired man. "Age twenty-one."

"Motive?"

"Unknown. But it's believed that he is one of the most prominent figures of an anti-CIA organization - set out to dismantle the agency."

Indra scoffs from behind Lexa. "Him and what army?"

"The size is unknown. This is what your mission will be." The general's face appears on screen again, the second projector activating itself. It shows a number of surveillance-type photographs. "The reason we have not arrested Blake yet is an amalgamation of a lack of proof, and a well-constructed cover life."

"Cover life?" Lexa tilts her head to the left.

"He's a college student - goes to Berkeley, along with many of the suspected members on his team. Ironically enough, he's a criminology major. From what we've seen, the main team seems to consist of the following." The second screen flashes to a photo of a dark-haired girl, who bears a striking resemblance to Blake. "Octavia Blake, his younger sister. She's just started her first year at the college." A photo of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. "Clarke Griffin - either his right-hand, or the leader of the team, itself. That's unclear. Biochemistry major. Presumably going to med school." A photo of a darker brunette girl. "Raven Reyes. Engineering major. Top engineering student in her year." A photo of yet another shaggy-haired brunette boy. "And Finn Collins. As for him, we are unsure of whether he's actually on the team or not - surveillance shows that he was almost always with Reyes or Griffin, but he is no longer a problem."

"Dead?"

"Yes. This team was allegedly involved in a shoot-out where seven of our agents were killed, and Collins was killed, too - but they managed to come up with alibi, for that. They immediately made their way over to a fraternity party at Berkeley, saying that they'd been there the entire time. It was perfect - drunk college kids wouldn't be able to remember when they'd come, or gone. We couldn't get them for it, as the only agents that would have seen them were dead."

"And Griffin..." Lexa furrows her brow, going through the archives of her (computerized) brain, the name ringing a bell. "Any relation to Jacob Griffin?"

"His daughter."

Lexa narrows her eyes. Jacob Griffin was once one of the top combative agents of the NSA. She wasn't involved in this, but the NSA eliminated him after he became a threat to their agency when he went rogue. "There's your proof, right there," she says, gesturing to the second screen. "Clarke Griffin, angsty college student, takes out the anger from her father's death by attempting to dismantle the very agency responsible for it. Of course they're responsible for Jaha's assassination attempt."

"Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing. That's how good their college cover is - to the untrained eye, they're simply college students with clean records, apart from the occasional speeding ticket, possession of marijuana, public intoxication. Low-lying, well-educated contributions to our society."

Lexa raises an eyebrow, waiting to hear where she comes in to all of this.

"I want you, Agent Wilde, to go to Berkeley, pose as a student there, befriend Bellamy Blake, and gather all the information that you possibly can from him. Once you have their motives, a confirmation that he, indeed, was the assailant, and the rest of his team members, you eliminate him, and we send in agents to arrest his team."

"Wh - all due respect, sir, that might take months." Lexa is never one to disobey orders, but she's never been on an LTM before. Long Term Missions are infamous amongst NSA agents, some of them lasting up to five years before the case is either solved, or an agent is killed. "Can't we just take him and interrogate him?"

"We could, but that would do nothing for us, long-term wise." The general's voice is firm. "He has a team, likely ready to step up if he is captured, or killed. It's better for us to get every smidgen of information we can, every detail about his life, and then erase his organization. Every small, seemingly-insignificant piece of it."

Lexa nods begrudgingly. "What about Anya and Indra?"

"You two will provide backup for Wilde," The general says. "Gather information when you can. Surveil the premises. Make sure the situation doesn't go awry. They will go on other, smaller missions while you focus on this one."

"Thank the fucking lord," Anya breathes - quiet enough so that the general can't hear, loud enough for Lexa to fully understand. She curls her lip in distaste. This is not missed by the general.

"Agent Wilde, I could easily assign this case to another agent -"

"No, general," Lexa says hastily, flashing a glare towards her fellow agent. "I can take this on."

"Good. Because I actually cannot easily assign this case to another agent. You are the youngest agent of your ranking in the NSA, Wilde, and the most skilled in all of the NSA. Twenty-one years old with the equivalent of a super-computer in your brain. All thanks to The Intersect." The general says this and Lexa holds back the urge to roll her eyes. She's gotten this speech one too many times, now, and she hates it - the general acting as if she was completely untrained, unskilled, incompetent before The Intersect. It's demeaning, and belittling, and she hates it. "You may not like it, but your brain chemistry was the most -"

"Compatible with The Intersect. I know, sir. I know."

"Your age will have you will easily pass as a college student. We have placed you in as a biochemistry student -"

"Biochemistry? Isn't that Griffin's major? Why not place me in the Criminology program?"

"We have decided it would be less suspicious, less forward, if you befriended Griffin before Blake. And Wilde," the general glares at Lexa (about as well as one can glare at another through a screen). "Stop interrupting me."

"My apologies, sir," Lexa mutters.

"You're enrolled in five courses, although I'm sure none will be difficult for you, as you have The Intersect. Three out of those five courses are with Griffin. Two of them, your elective courses, are with Blake. One of those elective courses are shared with Blake and Griffin. We have also purchased an apartment on campus as your living space. It isn't quite as large as your current living space, but an ostentatious apartment would be far too suspicious. Griffin's apartment is next to your new one. Be grateful that we haven't placed you in the residency program."

Lexa nods stiffly. Nothing about this assignment seems nice. Nothing.

"And, Wilde?"

"Yes, general?"

"You're going to have to get that stick out of your ass if you want to be perceived as a regular college student."

A pause. Anya lets out a snort from behind her. Lexa nods.

"Yes, general."

"Dismissed." Both screens go blank. Lexa turns to face Anya and Indra, ignoring the fact that she's just been humiliated by their general in front of her team.

"Get me as much information on both Blake and Griffin's interests as you possibly can," she says. "I'm going to go home and start packing."

Indra glowers at Lexa. "First we are told to take orders from a twenty-one-year old rookie," she grumbles. "Now are are being told to take orders from a twenty-one-year old college student."

Anya chuckles, and Lexa simply glares at the two of them. Indra walks away, muttering about being ordered around by children I did not go through all of that training for a college mission.

"Yeah, we'll do it, Lexa." Anya places a hand on Lexa's shoulder. "And...don't let Gustus or Indra get to you. I recruited you to the NSA, before you got The Intersect, for a reason. You're resilient. You'll finish this mission faster than any other agent can."

Lexa gives Anya another stiff nod, and shrugs out of her grasp, turning away from her to fiddle aimlessly with folders on the table. She can feel Anya's gaze boring into her back.

"You're going to have to move on, eventually, Lexa. It's been a long time." Anya's voice is uncharacteristically gentle. "It's what she would have wanted."

She. Flashes of bloody hands, a gunshot wound, last words ring through Lexa's head, and she has to physically shake her head to get it out.

"I've moved on." Lexa sets the folders down, turning to face Anya. "Stop treating me like a child."

Anya stares sadly at Lexa for a moment, then she's back to being one of the regular, stoic agents that the NSA has always bred. "Alright. I'll text you when we have all of the information. Good luck with packing."

Lexa nods, and without another word, Anya is out the door.

* * *

_A flash. A scream of pain. Lexa isn't sure whose mouth it comes out of - hers or Costia's - as she watches Costia fall to her knees, then on her stomach. Lexa races towards her, holstering her gun._

_"Costia, Costia, God, please, no, please -"_

_"Step aside, Agent Wilde."_

_"You don't understand. She's one of us. There must be an explanation for all of this." Lexa turns Costia over, cradling her head in her lap and furiously blinking away at tears as she glowers at the shooter. "You didn't have to shoot."_

_"Step aside, now, rookie." Agent Indra Strong points her gun at Lexa. "She is a traitor. She has proven herself to be one. Step. Aside."_

_Lexa ignores her, turning back to her love, all bloodied and staring up at the sky with tears in her eyes. "Costia, stay with me." Lexa's voice shudders, breaks with every syllable. Costia turns her gaze to Lexa._

_"Don't do it," she manages to gasp. "Don't let them."_

_"I won't let her kill you. Keep your eyes open."_

_"No." Costia raises a shaky hand, places it on Lexa's cheek. "Intersect. Don't let them."_

_"What is an Intersect?" Lexa says desperately. "What is that, Costia?"_

_Indra cocks her gun from behind them. "Ten seconds, Wilde."_

_"Dangerous..." Costia's voice grows quieter, her gaze more unfocused._

_"Ten."_

_"Costia, it's okay."_

_"Nine."_

_"We can talk about it later, baby. It's okay. Save your strength."_

_"Eight."_

_"Use you...as a guinea pig..."_

_"Seven."_

_"What did you say? Costia, I can't hear you."_

_"Six."_

_A bloodied gasp._

_"Five."_

_"My...love..."_

_Tears fall freely down Lexa's cheeks. "Please."_

_"Four."_

_"May...we -"_

_"Don't say it."_

_"May we...meet again."_

_"Three."_

_Costia's eyes close. Her body shudders with her last breath. Indra didn't even have to shoot her gun._

_"Costia!" Lexa starts shaking her body. "Costia, no. Costia, come back."_

_Indra realizes what's happened and begins to tug at Lexa. "Dead? Good. We must clear the premises, now," she commands. "Do it now."_

_"Lexa." Another voice sounds from behind. Lexa turns, recognizing it - it's Anya._

_"Anya." Seeing the sight of a familiar face breaks her even further. "Costia - we have to get her to a hospital -"_

_Anya moves to crouch next to Lexa. "I'm sorry, Lexa," she says gently, placing a hand on Lexa's back. "She's gone. We have to go. We don't know who else she was with -"_

_"It's Costia." Lexa lets out another sob. "Costia. She's not a traitor. She can't be."_

_"Come on." Anya gently places her hands underneath Lexa's arms, hoisting her up. Lexa has never felt more like a child, but she allows herself to be lifted, steadied, and takes a look at her lover's lifeless body once more._

_And then she turns her back on Costia for the last time._


	2. Chapter 2

Clarke Griffin and her team are sitting around a table, in one of the smaller classrooms designed for seminars. This is the first time they've really regrouped since the failed hit mission, but the determination is still there. Fake assignments sit in front of them, for the sake of a cover; the room has been scanned for bugs and mics, but they can't guarantee a lost freshman, or a wandering TA stumbling upon their meeting.

"What have we got, so far?"

Bellamy speaks from the seat adjacent to her. "Jaha's still alive, but in critical condition, according to the news I've seen. One of their goons saw me at the event he was speaking at. They've suspected that I've been a part of this team for a while, now - I'm sure they've upped the ante on us, at this point. We have to watch our backs. Lay low for a while."

"As far as I know, they've profiled all of us," Raven says. "They've got files on us. That's all I managed to see when I hacked into their system for a few minutes. No definite proof that we're involved."

Clarke nods, takes a deep breath. "Okay. Bellamy is right - they'll be watching us closely. I don't know how, but they'll be watching us. Be wary of your surroundings - put those bug detectors to use, be observant of the people around you. Right now, the only people we can trust are each other."

"So, what?" Octavia says, "We sit around and do nothing?"

"We sit around, and go to class, and do our homework," Bellamy says sharply.

Octavia crosses her arms, huffing as she sinks back into her seat. "I thought college was supposed to be fun."

"Go to a party like every other normal freshman," Raven says, smirking. "That'll throw them off. Anti-agency organization members don't party, do they?"

Clarke can't spare the time to be amused with anything, right now. "Listen, you guys. We're going to have to act like every other college student at this school. At least for this semester. This is likely our last team meeting for the next little while."

She's grateful that the semester's just begun; it's a fresh start, a way to get everyone back on track. More importantly, it's a way for whoever is after to see that they are nothing but average college students. Clarke considers joining an orientation team. Anti-agency organization members don't join orientation teams.

"Alright, well," Bellamy says, standing and gathering his papers. "You all know where to find me. Best of luck to you all. I'm sure I'll see you around."

Without a word, Octavia follows behind her brother, leaving Clarke and Raven alone in the room.

"You're worried," Raven says, watching Clarke start to organize her own papers. "Why are you worried?"

Clarke sighs. "The smallest slip. The smallest slip from any of us, and they've got us. They're just waiting for us to reveal the fact that we're doing this."

"What, and you don't trust us to keep quiet?"

"It's not that." Clarke looks at Raven. "It's what happens if they get us."

"Are you talking about your dad, right now?" Raven doesn't break her gaze on Clarke. "Or Finn?"

Even his name still draws a lump in Clarke's throat.

"I'm talking about both of them," she says, quickly getting the rest of her things together and standing. "We can't risk it. There are only four of us left. Against all of them."

"Clarke." Raven reaches out, wraps a hand around Clarke's wrist. "We'll get them back. For Finn, and your dad, and for everyone else they've fucked over for their project. All of them."

Clarke gives Raven a small, sad smile. "I hope we will."

One Week Later

It's the day before classes start, and Clarke already has a slew of assignments due - she thanks the sadist professors of the biochemistry program for that one.

She's ready to head upstairs, prep all of the required material for her courses, and possibly head to the school gym after, but then she sees a brunette woman standing there, furrowing a brow at the keycard scanner. She's got two luggage bags at her side. Must be a new move-in.

"Lost your keycard?" Clarke says, slightly amused. The brunette turns to face Clarke, startled green eyes meeting Clarke's own. Clarke walks closer to her, her eyes now on the keycard scanner. The brunette keeps watching her.

"Yes," she says, following Clarke's gaze on the keycard scanner. "Well, technically, no. I was just bringing my luggage up, and came downstairs to get this last load here. Then I realized I'd left my keycard in my room during the second trip."

Clarke pulls out her own card and waves it in front of the scanner, a tiny green light flashing above it as a confirmation. There's the distinct noise of the door unlocking, and Clarke puts the card back into her pocket. "Don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us." She goes to prop open the door for the other woman. "So, you're just moving in? What floor are you on?"

"The fifth. And thanks," the brunette says quietly, smiling her gratitude at Clarke.

"No worries. I'm on the fifth floor, too, funnily enough." Clarke shoves the door-stop in place and moves to take the brunette's second bag. "Let me take this one for you."

"That's really not necessary -"

"This bag is half your size," Clarke says, grunting as she picks it up. "Let me help."

The brunette merely nods another thank you, and waits for Clarke to remove the doorstop and lead the way to the elevator.

"My name is Clarke, by the way. Nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other, this semester."

"Lexa." The elevator dings and the two girls make their way inside. "I just transferred here from Boise."

"Yeah?" Clarke presses the key for the fifth floor. "What for?"

"Biochemistry. They've got a better program here."

"I'm a biochem major, too," Clarke remarks, a little excited at the prospect of a new friend in her program. Berkeley's got a biochemistry program that's known nation-wide, so it doesn't surprise her that Lexa has made the transfer. "Just starting my fourth year, but I'm going to be here for a while - med school right after this."

"Me, as well," Lexa says. "Except for the med school bit."

Clarke chuckles. "Why not?"

Lexa pauses for a moment, looking like she's choosing her next few words carefully. Clarke quirks an eyebrow. There's something about Lexa that already has Clarke very, very curious. Maybe she's just being high-strung and over-observant as a result of the past few events. Maybe it's in the way Lexa holds herself, how still she is, the way that those green eyes hardly wander. They stare straight ahead, determined, but mostly emotionless. There's something all-too familiar about Lexa.

Jacob Griffin had always taught Clarke to be observant, to read people the minute she meets them, but all she can read of Lexa is that she's a well-disciplined biochemistry student, striving for a higher education. That's it. But there has to be more.

"I don't work well under pressure," Lexa says, finally.

"Got it. Which apartment are you in?" Clarke follows Lexa out of the elevator, hauling the incredibly heavy bag behind her. What's in this thing?

"501."

"That's right next to mine."

"That's funny." Lexa keeps walking ahead.

"Yeah..." Clarke trails off. Less than a week ago, her and her team had gone over the repercussions of their hit mission. And now, this stoic, poised woman has appeared at Clarke's doorstep, just happening to live in the same apartment Clarke lives in, in the suite beside Clarke's, with the same major as Clarke?

She watches Lexa's back intently. It's too easy. They wouldn't do something this incredibly stupid, and obvious. Besides, Lexa looks far too young to be one of their agents.

Only one way to find out.

They get to room 501, and Lexa turns to Clarke, a smile on her face. "Thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll see you around."

"Yeah, of course," Clarke says, giving Lexa a tight-lipped smile back. "Need help getting things inside? Setting anything up?"

Lexa glances at Clarke for a moment, a contemplative look appearing on her face for a few seconds, then she nods. "Actually, yes. I've just got a few photos to put up, and shelves to put together, if you wouldn't mind. And," she adds, opening the door to her apartment, "It wouldn't hurt to make a new friend. I'd like to get to know you better, Clarke."

Clarke gives Lexa another short smile in response, and heads into the vacant apartment, setting the bag down next to two other bags placed in the middle of the living room.

"Okay, I'm just going to quickly use the bathroom," Lexa says. "I got stuck out there right as I needed to use the facilities."

"Alright," Clarke says, chuckling. "I'll just be out here."

Lexa heads around the corner to her bathroom, and Clarke takes this opportunity to crouch down next to the bag she's just set down.

Zipping it open is all it takes for Clarke to see a bulletproof vest, two pistols, silencers, a few sheathed knives, and a dozen loaded magazines in the duffel bag.

Of fucking course. Clarke whips out her phone, zipping the bag shut, and sends a text to Bellamy.

We were right. They're after us. Sent in an agent posing as a college student. She's my new neighbor &amp; in the bathroom right now. Doesn't know that I know.

Bellamy texts back instantly. O and I are on our way. I'll tell Raven. Armed?

To the teeth.

And you're in her apartment?

501.

Play it cool until we get there.

Clarke places her phone back in her pocket and moves to sit on the couch as she hears the toilet flush, sink running as Lexa washes her hands. Her heart is pounding - she has no idea what kind of weapons are on the other woman right now, how well-trained she is, but she can't leave.

All she can do is wait.

* * *

_Four Months Before_

_Clarke's ears ring, even in the gunshots that had sounded all around her will have her hearing impacted for days._

_"Clarke, we need to run." Bellamy's voice sounds from beside her. "We have to go."_

_"Finn -"_

_"He's a dead man, Clarke. You heard those agents. They called backup before we managed to get all of them, and there's no way of knowing how many more are coming. We have to go. Now!"_

_Clarke cradles Finn's head in her lap, brushing his hair out of his bloodied face. Both of his lungs have been punctured by bullets. He will die a slow death._

_"If we leave him here, they'll torture him before they kill him. That's what they did to my dad," Clarke says quietly. She does not allow herself to cry. "He's too weak to withstand it." She looks up at Bellamy, and Bellamy understands what she is saying._

_"Clarke, Bellamy!" Octavia yells from behind. "They can't be more than half a mile away. We have to go! Raven's waiting for us back at the base! There's a Phi Delta Theta party happening tonight - we can go there for an alibi."_

_"Hold up, Octavia. I can do it, if you need me to, Clarke," Bellamy says, crouching beside Clarke. Clarke shakes her head._

_Clarke looks back down at Finn, still breathing, still fighting. If she doesn't end his life now, he'll either die a painful death alone, or he'll die at the hands of the agents that will do his best to keep him alive, just long enough to torture information out of him._

_Either way, Finn Collins is a dead man. And Clarke knows this._

_She brushes the hair falling into his eyes and leans in to speak to him. "You're okay," she says, her voice calm, steady. Everything her father taught her to be. "You're okay, you're okay."_

_"You've gotta do it, Clarke," Bellamy says. "We don't have time."_

_"I know," Clarke whispers._

_Clarke leans down further to kiss Finn's forehead and then takes her hand off of the bullet wounds, reaching into her ankle holster for her knife. She opens it, and pauses, unable to move any further. She can't do this._

_But suddenly, with a bloody hand, Finn reaches over and guides Clarke's hand, hovering the knife over his heart. "Right here, alright?" he gasps, blood bubbling out of his mouth._

_"I've got you," Clarke says, "You're okay."_

_And with that, she plunges the knife deep into his heart, and Finn groans in pain for for a few seconds - Then he's gone._

_But Clarke doesn't have time to grieve - she takes the knife out of his chest and flips it back into its holster, putting it in her own pocket. Gently, she lifts Finn's head and places it back on the ground. Bellamy bows his head for a moment, then stands, reaching a hand out for Clarke to take in support._

_"Let's go."_


	3. Chapter 3

Lexa washes her hands at the bathroom sink, contemplating her next move.

Clarke Griffin suspects something. That much is obvious. Lexa just needs to gauge how much she suspects.

And, for fuck's sake, why did Griffin have to help her with the one bag, the only bag, carrying all of her weaponry? Lexa kicks herself for not bothering to bring those bags up, first. All she can do is hope that Griffin won't look into them.

Lexa can't blame Griffin for being suspicious, nor is she surprised that Griffin is suspicious - the NSA hasn't been subtle about their ongoing investigation on Bellamy Blake and his team. Lexa distinctly remembers reading a file about a series of interviews of the Blake team conducted by NSA agents, and she curses her agency for their lack of discretion. All she can do is keep going with her "lost, new student" facade, and hope that Griffin's suspicion fades away.

She dries her hands off and leaves the bathroom, turning the corner to see that Griffin has disappeared. Lexa stops in her tracks.

Oh, no. This can't be good. Lexa inhales through her nose at an attempt to keep calm - maybe Griffin has gone into the kitchen to get some water. Lexa couldn't bear to have failed a mission less than two hours in. The General would never give her the end of it.

"Clarke?" she says tentatively. "Where'd you go?'

Everything after that happens in a flurry; Lexa feels someone grab her from her side, spin her around, and throw her back against a wall. She's suddenly faced with Clarke Griffin, who has her effectively pinned down against the wall - she's got one arm across Lexa's chest, and a knife held to Lexa's throat. They're nose to nose.

The Intersect tells her to react, defense movements already whirling through her mind, but Lexa holds still. Maybe she can still lie her way out of this.

"What the hell is going on?" she sputters, attempting to look as scared as she can be - which is difficult, since Griffin's hold on her is pathetically easy to get out of. "What are you doing?"

"Nice knife," Clarke says, her voice low. "Found this in your bag - funnily enough, I didn't get the memo that Berkeley students needed bulletproof vests. Or SW99 semi-automatic pistols."

The Intersect doesn't exactly have a lying mechanism programmed into it. And as great of an agent Lexa is, as good as she is at putting up cover lives, she is not a good liar when it comes to being put on the spot. "That's not - that's not mine." Jesus, really?

This is met with Griffin pushing Lexa even harder into the wall. "Fuck off with the act. Who are you?"

Lexa sighs, and rolls her eyes - only one way out of this, now. Using the wall and her extra height for support, she uses both of her arms to effectively push the palms of her hands into Griffin's gut, winding her, and Griffin stumbles back in pain. Lexa pushes off of the wall, grabbing the wrist holding her knife, and twists it behind Griffin's back, causing the knife to drop.

Griffin fights back, though. She fights back hard. Twisting her wrist out of Lexa's grasp, she turns to face Lexa, swinging a fist square into Lexa's jaw. Lexa only staggers back for a moment before she runs back at Griffin, tackling her to the ground. She pulls out the gun tucked in the back of her pants, straddles Griffin, and points it directly at her forehead.

"Don't move."

Griffin raises both of her hands in submission, panting. She stares Lexa directly in the eye. "Why did they send you to follow me? I haven't done anything wrong. If this is about my father -"

Lexa cocks her gun. "I've dropped my act, you drop yours. You know damn well that this isn't about your traitorous father."

This seems to get a rise out of Griffin. Dark blue eyes flare in anger. "My father wasn't a traitor. He wasn't the one killing hundreds of innocents for The Intersect program."

Lexa pauses. How does she know about The Intersect program? Hundreds of innocent people? What is she - She quickly regroups, knowing she doesn't have the time or patience to listen to Griffin stall.

"You're going to tell me exactly how you know about The Intersect program, and what you know."

"Or what?" Griffin says, sneering. "You'll shoot me?" She lifts her head slightly from the ground, eyes still boring into Lexa's, still panting. "Go ahead."

Lexa opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn't get half a word out before she's tackled from the side by a black-haired figure. Instinct tells her that it's Bellamy Blake.

Blake stands above her, pointing a gun of his own at her head. Out of the corner of her eye, Lexa sees Octavia Blake help Clarke up, and the two of them move to stand on either side of Bellamy. Great. Lexa stands, holding her hands up. Bellamy's gun follows her the whole way.

"Look what we've got here. The ringleader and his girls. Where is Reyes?" The Intersect scans her surroundings, and instantly, she's got strategy to get out of here. She stays put, though. This is a good way to extract more information out of them, before she fights her way out. She sees Blake give Griffin an interesting look - one of...amusement?

Griffin speaks. "Really? You think he's the ringleader?"

Blake looks slightly offended. "Okay, Clarke. Harsh."

Octavia Blake snorts.

Lexa doesn't have the time for this. "So, what? It's you?"

Griffin moves to stand directly in front of Lexa. Lexa drolly notes her lack of respecting personal boundaries as they go nose to nose again.

"It's me." Griffin's eyes are smouldering with hatred. "Go tell that to your leader. Tell them that Clarke Griffin and her team are getting closer than they think. Jaha was just the beginning."

Lexa can't help but be impressed with her bravado. She's briefly brought back to Costia acting the same way in anger, the way her eyes took on this very same look. But again, she doesn't have the time for this. "Very brave of you, Griffin. I'd love to keep talking, but I've got a schedule to keep up with."

And with that, Lexa head-butts Griffin, pushing her back into Blake. Blake holds Griffin steady as she comes back to her senses, and Octavia Blake draws a gun of her own, but Lexa easily kicks it out of her hand before she can even get it into the air. She picks it up from the ground, cocking the trigger back, and aims it at the three of them.

"You'll hear from me again," she says, moving around them, picking up two of the three bags - the one with her weapons, and the one with her clothes. The other has useless school supplies. She can leave it. Lexa is thankful that she hasn't arranged for her furniture to be moved from her old apartment, yet.

Knowing that they won't run after her, she uncocks her gun, tucks it back into her pants, and leaves the apartment.

On her drive back to The Basement, she rubs the jaw that Griffin hit, knowing that it will bruise later. Lexa contemplates ways to explain the situation to Gustus without sounding like a complete failure, but her mind simply wanders back to what Clarke was saying about The Intersect.

How do they know? What did she mean when she talked about "hundreds of people dying" for it?

Lexa can't help but remember her and Costia's last conversation - Costia murmuring about The Intersect being dangerous, Lexa taking no heed to her words as she desperately attempted to figure out ways to keep her alive.

And Clarke Griffin - Lexa and her team severely underestimated her, their first mistake being that Bellamy Blake was the ringleader. Of course, Lexa is hardly surprised - Clarke Griffin has an incredible charm and charisma about her; she's far more eloquent than a lot of students her age, and she holds a room with authority. A natural-born leader. Lexa would respect that, if not for the fact that Griffin literally goes against everything Lexa has ever worked for.

She decides that she won't call a conference with Gustus and her team, just yet. She needs to speak to Anya, first. Anya might understand.

Once Lexa gets back to her apartment, she calls Anya. Anya picks up on the first ring.

"Lexa? Are you okay?"

"Be at my apartment in ten."

"The one on campus? You know I hate college kids -"

"No. My apartment."

"What -"

"Anya, just -" Lexa sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Just come."

There's a silence. Lexa is sure Anya has figured out that something's gone wrong. "Okay. Ten minutes."

Lexa has just finished drawing up a mind-map of sorts on the situation, writing down everything she knows about The Intersect (and she doesn't know much), Clarke Griffin, Costia's life, and the NSA. She's beginning to believe in the possibility that maybe, maybe, Griffin isn't the bad guy, here.

Her thoughts are interrupted by someone knocking on the door. It must be Anya. Just in case, Lexa moves her arm back and holds the handle of her gun before she opens the door. Anya comes in without a word.

"Why are your bags here?" she says, turning to face Lexa. Lexa closes the door behind her.

"Hello to you, too."

"What happened to the mission?"

"They found me out." Lexa moves behind the kitchen counter, getting a glass of water for herself, and one for Anya.

Anya raises her eyebrows, taking the glass Lexa passes to her. "Are you kidding me? How could you be that -"

"We underestimated them, Anya. They're not just college kids with a penchant for the government. Hear me out."

Anya sits herself down on a stool at the kitchen counter. She's angry. This much is clear. "Lexa, I didn't recruit you for you to fail a mission this -"

"Hear me out," Lexa says, her voice starting to rise. Anya sardonically raises her hands. Lexa continues, standing across from Anya. "They're well-trained. If I didn't have the Intersect, they could have easily overpowered me. But - there was something about the way they were talking about us - they kept referring to us as "them". Not the NSA."

"Angry teenagers angrily refusing to say the names of the corporation they're against," Anya says, waving a dismissive hand at Lexa.

"No. There's more to it. There has to be."

"Look. You failed the mission. Gustus is going to give you hell for it, but it'll be better if you don't make any more excuses -"

"They know about The Intersect."

At this, Anya goes silent.

"They know. And they say people died for it."

Anya shakes her head. "That can't be true. We're basically Team Intersect, and we know nothing about it. How could they possibly -"

"I think it has to do with Jacob Griffin, and why the NSA executed him. But -" Lexa moves to the kitchen table, grabs the paper with her notes, and brings it back, sitting next to Anya and placing it in front of them. "Look. There was a trend in NSA executions right around the time The Intersect program was instated. All sanctioned by Director Jaha."

"They were all traitors -"

"Anya, the NSA executes agents for being traitors once every five years, at most. There were twenty-seven agents killed in a two-months period, here. Twenty-seven. Including Costia."

"Indra did that," Anya says, "And if you're implying that Indra is a part of some secret, murderous government operation -"

"Indra was just following orders from Thelonious Jaha. I don't think she's a part of whatever is going on. The last thing Costia said to me was that The Intersect was dangerous. To not let "them" use it." Lexa looks desperately at Anya. "Anya, there's something more to this."

"Lexa." Anya places a hand on Lexa's shoulder. "Costia shot a group of the programmers working on The Intersect dead. I know you loved her, but she had that one coming."

"Why did she kill them, though?" Lexa adds that to her notes. "What was dangerous about it? Clarke Griffin said that hundreds of people died in the process -"

"You're doing this off of what Clarke Griffin said to you?" Anya says, bewildered. She stands. "Lexa, we have to go report back to Gustus -"

"Anya, wait." Lexa grabs Anya's wrist. "We can't tell him. Not yet. I have to figure this out. I cannot go back empty-handed."

Anya stands there for a moment, then takes her wrist out of Lexa's grip. "Lexa, I cannot conceal things from the General. We have to tell him."

"At least - give me 48 hours. Give me 48 hours of a head start. Tell Gustus I'm still at Berkeley, still trying to find things out. For 48 hours."

"Fine." Anya starts to leave. "48 hours. And Lexa." Anya turns back, her hand on the doorknob. "You're going dark, now. If you don't come up with anything..."

"I'll come up with it. I will."

Anya stares at Lexa, and Lexa could swear that she sees a hint of pride in Anya's eyes. "Keep yourself safe."

Lexa turns back to her notes, reading over them, trying to put the pieces together in her mind, but she knows she needs one more person to help her do that - to help her find the missing pieces. She writes one last thing down at the bottom of the page:

CLARKE GRIFFIN.

* * *

_One Year Ago_

_"Are you ready?" General Terram and Lexa stand in the middle of a white room. The front wall of this room is made entirely of large tiles - and these tiles look like screens. Dr. Tsing, stands behind them._

_"So, what," Lexa says, her eyes flitting around the room. "I just..stand here, and what?"_

_Dr. Tsing speaks from behind them, and both Gustus and Lexa turn to face her. "You keep your eyes on the front wall. The Intersect will download itself into your brain chemistry."_

_"Yes, but how?"_

_"Photographs have pixels," Dr. Tsing says. "There are fifty screens, here. Fifty photos. Millions upon millions of pixels in every photo. In each pixel is a specially-programmed optical technology. Your eyes see every pixel. Your eyes, to put it simply, download every pixel into your brain. These pixels, put together, create The Intersect."_

_"Go over the risks with me, again. Before she died, Costia told me this would be dangerous. Why did she say that?"_

_Dr. Tsing pauses. "I apologize for your loss -"_

_"Save it."_

_"...From what I have heard of the...situation, Agent Abramov was not in the right state of mind when she revealed the production of The Intersect to you. She was likely just discussing the potential risks involved with downloading the program into your brain."_

_"Okay. Tell me what the risks are."_

_Dr. Tsing sighs, and looks down at the clip-board. "It's possible that your brain may not be able to handle the sheer capacity of information in every pixel, let alone millions, in fifty photos."_

_"What happens then?"_

_"Your brain would essentially melt. But we've run all the tests, Agent Wilde. Your brain chemistry is incredibly compatible -"_

_"With The Intersect. I know." Lexa turns to face the wall again. "Who created this?"_

_"It's best for you to not know the fine details."_

_"I'm downloading this into my brain. I'm risking my life for this project."_

_"Well, it isn't as if you have much to lose -"_

_General Terram sharply interrupts. "Dr. Tsing."_

_"No, no," Lexa murmurs, staring at the screens. "She's right. I'll do it. Start it up."_

_"General Terram, you and I will have to leave the room."_

_Gustus addresses Lexa. "Director Jaha will be thanking you personally after this."_

_"Director Jaha ordered Indra to kill my partner," Lexa says, her voice a monotone. "I don't want his thanks."_

_The general is silent, and then he nods. "See you on the other side."_

_Lexa is left alone in the room, and all goes dark except for the white tiles. A computerized voice sounds from the speakers above._

_Intersect program initiated._

_Intersect program commencing. Intersect will engage in five seconds._

_Four._

_Three._

_Lexa takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Costia."_

_Two._

_One._

_Intersect program engaged._


	4. Chapter 4

Clarke doesn't have a plan.

Her and the team could go through with their escape protocol, drop out of school, and go off the grid like they had planned; but Clarke has made a life in Berkeley, and she's receiving incredibly good grades - med school is just around the corner for her. She doesn't want to sacrifice that.

On the other hand, they could hold their ground, and stay; her encounter with Lexa (if that's her name) has left them all holding a smoking gun, with Clarke's admission of their guilt surely being enough to have the organization knock down all their doors and arrest them.

They don't have too much time to decide; Bellamy is making this abundantly clear as he paces the length of Clarke's living room. Raven is attempting at doing a background check on Lexa, but Lexa, virtually speaking, does not seem to exist.

"We have to run," Bellamy says, running a hand through his hair. "They could be here at any second -"

"It's been a day since the agent came here, Bellamy," Clarke says, exasperated. "If they were planning on arresting us, they would have done it by now."

"So, what?" he says, turning to face Clarke, "Are you saying that we should sit around and wait until they do arrest us?"

"No, there's..." Clarke narrows her eyes, pensive. "Something off about this. The way the agent acted when I brought up The Intersect."

"What do you mean?"

"Regular NSA agents have no idea what The Intersect is," Clarke says. "Only Fulcrum-NSA agents, and whoever would have directly been involved with The Intersect program, do."

"And she knew what The Intersect was. That's our answer, right there."

"No, she...it's as if she knew what The Intersect was, but the look on her face, after I told her about what it took for The Intersect to get up and running - that wasn't the face of someone knowingly involved with Fulcrum."

"You know what, Clarke?" Bellamy says, starting to walk off and picking up his backpack. "I have class. I don't have time for you to be second-guessing things. If you don't "figure out" whatever it is you're trying to figure out by the end of these next few hours, I'm packing my things, and leaving. That goes for you, too, O," he says to his sister, who has been watching Raven work at the computer in awe.

Octavia looks up and glares at her brother. "I'm having fun in college."

"You said less than two weeks ago that -"

"Went to my first frat party," she says, smirking as she stands to follow him. "And, Bell, do I have some stories about a select few boys from Delta Kappa Theta for you."

"Don't want to hear them," Bellamy says, opening Clarke's front door. He turns to look at Clarke before he leaves.

"Figure it out, Princess. Doesn't matter if she's Fulcrum, or not. At this point, they know about us. They have to."

When he leaves, Raven lets out a low whistle. "Someone's a little high-strung."

"He just wants Octavia to be safe," Clarke says, sighing and sinking back into the couch. Raven murmurs her assent, and they sit there in silence for the next few minutes - Clarke trying to figure out a plan, and Raven typing away.

"Hey, I found something." Raven picks up her laptop and moves to sit next to Clarke. She points at the screen. "I haven't found any kind of direct information about that agent, but look here."

Clarke reads the report:

_...Special Agent Costia Abramov was tragically killed in a gun mishap during a hand-eye co-ordination weaponry lesson, on January 25, 2013. Her partner, Special Agent Lexa Wilde, will remain active within the NSA. The NSA honors the service Agent Abramov has provided for her country._

"January 2013? That was a month before The Intersect program was activated."

"That can't be a coincidence," Raven says, scrolling through the various death reports. "Gun mishaps? I didn't think that was a thing that happened to special agents. "

"They aren't," Clarke says, furrowing a brow. "She was part of the trend of the agents that died during that time period. There has to be something, there. And that's all you found about Lexa Wilde?"

Raven nods, then looks at the clock on her laptop. "Shit, mechanical engineering lecture," she says, shutting her laptop and gathering her things, "I'd say I'd skip it, but Professor McCaron has been on my ass about being late for these past few weeks. Sorry, Clarke."

"That's fine," Clarke says. She has Fridays off of school, and those days are usually spent sketching, catching up on homework, or working out, anyway. "I'll see you later. I'll let Bellamy know about what we found - hopefully that'll have him stay put a little longer."

"Okay. Does everyone have their watches on?"

The team each has customized watches - the knobs for adjusting time double as distress buttons, where if the wearer punches in Morse for S.O.S (three short pushes, and three longer pushes), the GPS tracker embedded in the watch activates, sending their whereabouts to Raven's computer - designed by Raven, of course.

"Yeah. I've got mine. I think I saw Bellamy and Octavia wearing theirs." Clarke holds up her wrist to demonstrate. "I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Four Hours Later

Clarke is lying on her stomach on the floor, sketching a photo of a meadow, when she hears someone knocking on her door. She's immediately on her guard, and decides to arm herself before opening it, walking over to her desk by the window, grabbing the gun in the second drawer, and tucking it in the back of her pants before she approaches the door. Bellamy, Octavia, and Raven have classes for the rest of the day today, and her neighbours on this floor never come around, ever.

Placing a hand around the handle of the gun with one hand, Clarke opens the door with the other - and she's met with the face of Lexa Wilde.

Clarke steps back, drawing her gun, and points it at her. Lexa raises her hands.

"I'm unarmed," she says quietly, the tiniest flicker of what looks like amusement going through her green eyes as she speaks. Clarke doesn't lower her gun, nor does she speak. Lexa sighs, lowering her hands. "I'm here to listen to more of what you have to say about The Intersect -"

"Are you one of them?" Clarke says immediately. The slight amusement in the other woman's eyes is replaced with confusion.

"The NSA? Yes. I thought that had been established -"

"Fulcrum." Clarke observes Lexa carefully, looking for the slightest hint of recognition in her facial expression - but the confusion originally on her face only deepens further.

"What the hell is Fulcrum? Could you put that damn thing down?"

"Let me search you first."

"You're going to frisk me?"

"I'm sorry, did you want me to buy you dinner, first?" Clarke says facetiously, taking one hand off of her gun to gesture for Lexa to come in - she doesn't want to risk a neighbor coming out to see her pointing a gun at a stranger. Lexa obliges, closing the door behind her, and steps closer to Clarke.

"Whatever will put you at ease, Clarke Griffin," Lexa says, sarcasm heavily lacing her voice. Clarke moves forward, still with the gun in one hand, and uses her right hand to pat Lexa down. She wasn't lying - she is unarmed. Clarke tucks her gun back into her jeans, then moves to the kitchen table, where the bug detector sits - it heavily resembles a metal detector wand, similar to the ones used in airports, and Lexa seems to recognize it immediately as Clarke picks it up and moves towards her with it.

"You're kidding me. This is excessive."

"You were straddling me, holding a gun to my forehead, just over twenty-four hours ago." Clarke activates the detector and waves it around the length of Lexa's body. "Forgive me for being a little more thorough about letting you near me, this time."

"I was simply following orders -"

"Yeah, yeah," Clarke mutters, turning the detector off once Lexa is shown to be clear of any bugs or recording devices. She moves to place it on her kitchen counter, then turns to face Lexa. "So. What are you doing here, Lexa Wilde?"

"How did you kn -"

"Your last name? Same way your agency figured out that I was a biochemistry major, that I lived on the fifth floor of apartment #132, and in the same way you know about my father," Clarke says, starting to feel exasperated. "You're not the only one with access to that kind of information."

Lexa nods slowly, moving to stand in front of Clarke. "I need to know what you meant about The Intersect. And how it was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people."

"I meant that The Intersect is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people."

There's a look of irritation that flashes through Lexa's eyes, and Clarke resigns. "Okay. Let's go sit," she says, gesturing to the couch. She moves to sit on it, and Lexa follows, tentatively taking a spot beside her. She notices the sketchbook lying on the floor across from where they sit.

"You draw?" Lexa gazes at the half-finished picture Clarke had been working on. "That is quite the piece of work, there, Clarke." Her voice is genuine, curious, and Clarke can't help but feel suspicious. Everything about this is suspicious - for all she knows, Lexa Wilde could have agents surrounding the building, ready to capture Clarke at any moment.

But Clarke is curious. Clarke has always been curious - and Lexa stirs that curiosity even further.

"Uh, yeah," Clarke says, immediately changing the subject, "Anyway, The Intersect program - how do you know about it?"

Lexa shifts in her seat. "It's a long story."

Clarke narrows her eyes at Lexa. "Is this about your dead partner? Costia?" At this, Lexa quickly turns to look at Clarke, an alarmed look in her eyes. Clarke shrugs. "I have my hackers, you have yours."

Lexa holds her stare on Clarke, and Clarke looks right back, a steely look in her eyes. The other woman's gaze goes from alarm to a desolate kind of look, and Clarke's curiosity is deepened further.

"Yes. She had been my...partner since I first started in the NSA." Lexa breaks the hold she had on Clarke's eyes, looking down at her hands. "One day, we got a call from our director -"

"Jaha?"

" - Yes, saying that there was a rogue agent on the roof of Forte Hall, and she had killed nine programmers and engineers working on the project. Forte Hall was where, I later found out, The Intersect was being held. He ordered my team set out to gun this rogue agent down, and..." Lexa trails off.

"The rogue agent was your partner." Clarke can see pieces of a picture come together in her head - Lexa Wilde, loyal NSA agent, loses her partner to The Intersect. Then she meets Clarke and her team - a team that claims to have answers for why that was. She understands why Lexa Wilde is here, now.

"I'm sorry. It must have been hard to lose a co-worker," she murmurs, watching Lexa look up and out the window across the couch.

Lexa nods. "We were close," she says. Her voice is tinged with sadness for a brief second, but then she straightens her shoulders, inhales, and then looks at Clarke, who has followed Lexa's gaze out the window. "I need to know why she would have killed all of those programmers. Before she died, she told me that The Intersect was dangerous. Why?"

Clarke leans back on the couch, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know the full story," she admits, "But my dad did. He was one of the people recruited to start building The Intersect. See, there's this - there's a sub-agency of the NSA called Fulcrum. They started off as a research group, and my father had been more than willing to help out with their project. But then they started killing people."

"Why would they need to kill people in the process of building The Intersect?"

"The resources required to build it..." Clarke shakes her head. "See, The Intersect started off as a project designed to create an army of super-agents. At first, they kept to programming, testing it out on computers, fixing the code that they could see was wrong. Then they started testing it on people. That's when things got sour."

"Guinea pigs..." Lexa murmurs. Clarke turns to look at her - she now has a pensive look on her face.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"The agents who were testing it out were going brain dead left and right. My father didn't want to stand for it - he didn't stand for it. He went to Director Jaha and begged him to stop the experiments. Jaha said no. My father recruited agents involved with The Intersect program who agreed with him to overtake it, to stop the experiments. They were going to storm the building and arrest the programmers for murder. Then, a week later, he was killed in "a car accident"." Clarke scoffs. "That's when they started executing agents. They covered up most of the deaths as accidents, I think -"

"Not all of them," Lexa says. "Many of them were publicly announced as the execution of "dangerous traitors". I assume it was a scare tactic, to stop agents from doing the things your father, and Costia, were doing. I was aware that your father had been labelled as a traitor. I thought...I thought you were simply doing what you were doing in vengeance of his death, and you were a traitor, yourself." Lexa pauses. "I'm sorry about that."

"Just doing your job," Clarke mutters. "And using it as a scare tactic would make the most sense, yes." Clarke stands, moves to the kitchen, and grabs her laptop from the counter, sitting at the counter-stool and opening it. "Here."

Lexa follows, standing beside Clarke - a little too close for comfort, but, to be fair, they had been nose-to-nose just the day before on the wall near the counter - that reminds her; "Sorry about your jaw," she says, starting to type on the laptop. Lexa lets out a quiet laugh.

"It's fine. I was sure it would bruise, but it's been good, so far. A little sore, but fine. I deserved it."

"You kind of did," Clarke assents, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she looks for the file holding all the information her team has gathered on The Intersect. "Fulcrum has done a great job of keeping everything they've done a secret," Clarke explains, "So, to you and the other NSA agents not involved with Fulcrum, it looks like me and my team are just trying to overthrow the NSA as a whole - not just Fulcrum. That's why they keep sending regular agents to come and arrest us."

"Jesus." Lexa raises her eyebrows. There's a look of genuine fear in her eyes.

"Only one in around one hundred people could withstand the sheer amount of data The Intersect would place in their brain," Clarke continues. "That leads me to wonder if they've found anyone who can carry it in their brain, yet."

"What if they have?"

Clarke shrugs. "A modicum of things, really. They would keep going with the human experiments, and likely use the agent with The Intersect in their heads as test subjects - let them run around for a bit, utilize The Intersect, and if their brains aren't melted by the end of some time period? They would probably take in the agent equipped with The Intersect and -" Clarke shakes her head in disgust. "They would open up their brain. Look at their brain chemistry, see what's required in an agent for The Intersect to be compatible."

Suddenly, Lexa steps back. "No..."

Clarke watches Lexa in confusion. She's gone awfully pale, looking like she could potentially vomit in the next few seconds. "Lexa? Are you okay?"

"I need some air." Lexa rushes out of the door, and Clarke shuts her laptop to follow her, grabbing her keycard as she leaves. Lexa is waiting outside of the elevator until it arrives. Clarke follows her in, and the two stand in silence; and when the elevator doors open again on the main floor, Lexa more or less runs out, and she's out the doors of the building, sitting in the grass.

Clarke crouches next to her, tentatively placing a hand on the other woman's back. "Hey," she says gently, "I know it's a lot -"

"Costia died for this." Lexa is breathing hard. "All of this was happening right under our noses, and here I am, chasing after the wrong people -"

"Lexa, it's okay," Clarke says - she wonders why Lexa is acting this way. Yes, her partner died for it, and yes, it's a little scary to know that there is a group of people working so close to what you work for, but this? There's something more to this.

"She warned me about it." Lexa is hugging her knees, now. "I should have listened -"

"Listened to what?"

"I have The Intersect in my head," Lexa blurts out. "It's me. I'm their test subject."

Clarke takes her hand off of Lexa's back. "What?"

"I didn't know what it was - all that they told me was that this was the beginning to a series of trials, and that they would be creating super-agents, capable of retaining and using any information or skills that they ever will learn, or have ever learned in their lives. They went over the risks with me, but I had just lost Costia, and I felt like I had nothing to lose if it didn't work. I thought I was the only one. I thought I was the first test subject."

"You were going to risk going brain-dead because you had nothing to lose? Because your coworker -" Suddenly, Clarke understands. She moves to sit next to Lexa, instead of crouch, going cross-legged and starting to pick at the grass in front of her.

More and more pieces start to come together. Clarke has more in common with Lexa than she initially thought.

"You loved her, didn't you? You were involved with her."

Slowly, Lexa nods. "I need to know what she died for, Clarke," she whispers. "I need to do what your father was going to do. I need to stop them."

"We can do that. Together," Clarke says, her voice gentle again. "Your team, do you trust them?"

Lexa nods. "I would trust them with my life."

"Would they be open to hearing me out? Listening to what my team has to say?"

The other woman looks up at the blue sky, and the light brightens her emerald eyes. Clarke notes the beauty in the line of her jaw, her full lips, and especially her eyes - bright, but aged and full of sorrow. Her heart hurts for Lexa, this woman she hardly knows, and she feels the pain of losing Finn, losing her father, all over again, recognizing herself in Lexa's eyes.

"I lead my team," Lexa finally says, "We have a general who assigns missions for us, but he would hear you out, I think. But what would we do after?" She looks at Clarke, a curious look on her face.

Clarke gives Lexa a weak smile. The sudden alliance between the two of them puts her a little more at ease. She's sure it will put her team, especially Bellamy, at ease, too.

"We'll figure it out."

_Three Years Ago_

_Clarke is eighteen years old, and hucking throwing knives at a target nailed to the tree in her backyard. _

_Her father, Jake Griffin, is standing behind her, arms crossed and observing his daughter. "It's more like - a snap of the wrist. Kind of like you're whipping something."_

_Clarke groans, turning to face him. "I know, dad. I've been hitting the bulls-eye literally every time. Can we move on to other things?"_

_Jake stares at her with a stern look on his face. "No. Look, Clarke, you've got a great throwing form and an incredibly accuracy rate, but go take a look at the bulls-eyes that you hit. Look at how much of the knives actually go into the target."_

_Clarke walks over to the tree, Jake close behind. He's right - there's only about an inch out of five that's buried itself into the target, and the target material isn't the toughest._

_"Say you're hitting someone who's attacking you. This," Jake continues, poking the relatively soft material with an index finger, "Is about the equivalent of hitting someone in the stomach, but you have to take into account all the other parts of the body - the parts that are harder to penetrate."_

_Suddenly, Abby's voice sounds from the window looking into the house from the backyard. "Clarke! Jake! Dinner!"_

_Jake reaches over and ruffles Clarke's hair. "We'll keep going with hand-to-hand after dinner."_

_"Yes!" Clarke exclaims. Hand-to-hand combat is her favorite. _

_"Get this all cleaned up and I'll see you inside, kiddo."_

_Clarke has just finished cleaning up the hunting knives and various weapons sprawled in her backyard, and is about to walk in through the screen door to her house when she hears what sounds like her mother and father having a quiet argument. She pauses, listening in._

_"…for Clarke. For our family. I have to do it."_

_"Jacob," Abby says, her voice hushed and urgent, "We can figure something else out. Help them find a better way to test The Intersect."_

_"They're killing people, Abigail. People with families. Would you be saying the same if they used me as a test subject?"_

_"Jacob -"_

_"Abigail, you're one of the NSA medics. You would understand better than anyone how reckless this is. You've seen firsthand what The Intersect can do to a human brain."_

_"If you do this, it will be considered as treason. Fulcrum has some of the most decorated agents in the NSA working for it. They won't forgive you for this."_

_"The Intersect project will fail, Abigail."_

_"The Intersect project is well on its way to success. If you jeopardize that now, the NSA may never have an opportunity like this, ever again."_

_"What will you do, Abby? Will you call Jaha? Tell him to stop me?"_

_"I may have to."_

_"He would get someone to kill me. That's how they work. They would kill anyone who would go against it."_

_"Jaha is a friend. He would never do that to you - not even for The Intersect."_

_Clarke chooses this moment to walk in the door. Her parents jump a little, Jake reaching around his back for his gun instinctively, but then he relaxes when he sees that it's only Clarke._

_"Clarke. Mind grabbing some water -"_

_"What's an Intersect?" Clarke says, her voice steady, always steady; Jake was the one who taught her how to stay composed in stressful situations, teaching her how to breathe, teaching her how to stay sharp._

_Abby is the one to respond. "Nothing–"_

_But Jake raises a hand, a defeated look on his face. "This is Clarke, Abby," he says, sighing and placing his hand on the kitchen counter, leaning against it. He gestures to the stool at the counter in front of himself and Abigail. "Would you mind sitting?"_

_Clarke sits. And waits._

_"I'm going away for a while, Clarke," Jacob says, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "There are people in the NSA doing some very illegal things -"_

_"Jacob." Abigail steps forward. Jake raises a hand._

_"I'm leaving. Tonight. I'll be back in the morning. Let's have dinner, shall we?"_

_A few yelling matches later, Clarke finally hears her parents settle down and go to sleep. She lies in bed, wide awake, thinking of what to do. _

_Suddenly, the door to her room opens, and Clarke bolts up into a sitting position - but it's only Jake._

_"Hey, kid," he whispers. "Can I come in?"_

_"Yeah," she says, leaning back against the headrest. Jake comes over and sits at the edge of her bed. _

_"I figured you wouldn't be sleeping."_

_"Is mom sleeping?"_

_"Yeah. She's got a spinal surgery and has to be in the hospital by 4 in the morning. I think she took melatonin."_

_Clarke nods._

_"I'm leaving right now, Clarke," he says gently, reaching over to rest a hand on Clarke's shoulder. _

_"Be safe, dad."_

_"Don't worry about me, kiddo. Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."_

_"I love you."_

_"I love you too." Jake leans over to kiss his daughter's forehead._

_And just like that, Jake is gone._

_A few hours later and Clarke still isn't asleep. She opts to go to her mom's room, but when she opens the door, Abby isn't there. Clarke quickly looks at the clock next to Abby's bed. It's only two in the morning. She runs back to her room, grabs her phone, and calls Abby, only for it to go straight to voicemail - and while she calls again, she notices it - a watch on her nightstand. Jake's watch. Taking it in her hand, Clarke puts a sweater on and goes downstairs, about to leave, but then she's met with her mother, on her cellphone._

_"Mom?"_

_Abigail puts one finger up to silence her daughter. "Okay," she says, "Thank you. I wouldn't have called if there was something else we could do." Abby hangs up._

_"Clarke," she says, her voice urgent, "Go back upstairs -"_

_"What's going on?" Tears begin to form in Clarke's eyes. "Who were you just talking to?"_

_"One of the agents in the NSA. I told them about what your father is doing."_

_"Why would you do that?" Clarke says frantically, "These are the same people that killed dad's friend for the security breach in '09 -"_

_"Clarke, baby, I love you, and I would do anything for you, but your father is not thinking about the greater good, here. For the sake of the project, he has to be stopped."_

_"Stopped?" _

_Killed?_

_"He'll likely spend some time in a maximum-security prison, but not too long. Jaha will take care of it. Clarke," Abby says, watching her daughter panic, "They have custody of your father now. We're fine."_

_Four days later, an agent shows up to their door. Clarke knows what he is about to say before he even opens his mouth again._

_"I'm very sorry, ladies, but I have some news about Jacob Griffin…"_

_They say the car escorting him to the prison facility got into an accident, but Clarke knows better. Her father was executed, just like he said he would be._

_Clarke is on the floor, face buried in her hands. Her ears are still ringing. Time isn't moving. It can't be._

_Abigail walks over to comfort her daughter, but Clarke pushes her off. Hard. This is all her fault._

_The world comes back to Clarke in one sharp inhale, and her ears don't stop ringing, but she's hyper-aware of her surroundings. _

_Jacob Griffin is dead._

**A/N: ****Sorry about all the death and stuff. We'll get to the fun part, soon - I just needed to have the girls band together &amp; give you all a big backstory behind The Intersect, and what Costia, Finn, and Jacob died for. I really hope you're enjoying this, so far! Leave any reviews or kudos that you would like to leave :-) -T**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, I know it's been a while, but I got totally caught up with finals. I made this chapter a lil longer to hopefully make up for that! Enjoy! I'll update more often now that finals are over. -T**

Night terrors have been a frequent occurrence for Lexa since The Intersect was first loaded into her brain. Having The Intersect means that Lexa's brain works in overdrive; it is always awake, and thinking, even if Lexa, herself, is not. During particularly stressful nights, Lexa has less control over her thoughts - and then come the nightmares.

This time, it's a dream where Lexa and Costia are at an empty beach. Lexa watches Costia wade in the ocean water with a faint smile on her face; sunlight radiates off of both their bodies. Costia her her back turned to Lexa.

"Love, it's time to head back home." Lexa stands, starts to fold their blankets - then she hears a loud bang. Her first instinct is to drop to the ground, cover her head - then, when she stands, she sees Costia, still standing there, still standing with her back turned to Lexa. "Must have been a car backfiring," Lexa says, shaking her head at the slight audacity of her actions. Costia does not move from her position. "Costia?"

Costia turns. There is a bullet wound in her bare stomach. Blood seeps out of it. Lexa lunges forward, only to be met with some kind of external, invisible force pushing against her. She is fixed into place. "Costia!"

Blood drains into the ocean, turning the entirety of the water red. Everything goes red. The blood ocean ebbs back until it's just Costia, standing on the wet sand, staring at Lexa. The wound is suddenly gone.

"You should have listened, Alexandra," she whispers.

The ocean comes back in the form of a bloody tsunami, roaring towards Lexa, consuming her until she can't breathe, Where is Costia What should I have listened to What did I do wrong -

And then she's jolted awake.

She lies there in bed, a thin layer of sweat on her skin, shaking a little, breathing hard, and allows herself a few minutes to come back to reality before she moves, again. Lexa looks at the clock.

Six in the morning. No use trying to go back to sleep, now. Lexa rubs her eyes and sits up, reaching over to take a sip out of the glass of water sitting at her side table.

It's the morning after her and Clarke have had their talk, and Lexa hasn't felt this on edge in months. It's clear that the two don't trust each other, but they have the same goal: figure out the motives behind the creation of The Intersect, and destroy the organization that is (supposedly) responsible for the deaths of innocents. This will have to do, for now.

She's set up a conference - Griffin's team, and Lexa's team, in The Basement - but she has no idea what to expect. How the General would respond to any of this. How Anya would respond to any of this. Especially how Indra will respond to any of this.

Lexa sits in bed, holding her glass of water, and thinks of Clarke Griffin; up until their alliance meeting, Lexa had thought of her as nothing but a naive college student, recklessly fighting for an already-lost cause - but now... Now, not so much.

Clarke Griffin is nothing like what Lexa predicted: she is bolder than Lexa thought, and her loyalty to the ones she cares about, the dedication to the cause she is fighting for, is unwavering. Lexa absentmindedly notes that she would have made an excellent NSA agent.

She sees a lot of Costia in Clarke Griffin.

Almost too much.

"I'm not going to get shot down the moment your team sees me, right?"

Lexa has just picked Clarke up from her apartment on campus. They're fifteen minutes from The Basement.

"No. I'll make sure of it."

"They don't know I'm coming?"

"No," Lexa repeats. "I just called for a briefing. I didn't want to risk the General shutting me out without having had met you."

Clarke rests her head against the window.

"Why did you decide to come alone, Clarke?" Lexa asks.

Clarke shrugs. "Bellamy gets hot-headed really easily. Raven isn't exactly the most well-mannered person around figures of authority. And I don't want Octavia in too deep with this - she's too young."

Lexa nods, eyes on the road. Smart. Possibly foolish, coming without backup, but smart.

They drive in silence for the next ten minutes, and through her peripheral vision, Lexa can see Clarke watching her. Once they get to a stoplight, Lexa turns to meet Clarke's eyes. "Something wrong?"

Clarke's eyes don't stray. "When did it happen?"

"When did what happen?"

"Costia. When did it happen?"

Lexa's eyes are immediately back on the road again. She waits until the light turns green, then starts driving. Clarke is still watching her. Lexa exhales softly, fingers tapping on the wheel. "Just over a year ago," she says softly. She sees Clarke's head turning to face the road again, going back to her previous position, leaning against the window.

"I lost someone, too," Clarke says, her voice just as quiet. "It's been four months. His name was Finn."

Lexa stays silent, unsure of what to say. Clarke breaks the silence.

"Does it ever go away?"

Lexa is startled at the way Clarke speaks, her voice brittle, vulnerability made blatantly obvious in her demeanour. She continues driving for a few more seconds, seeing the warehouse, and starts driving towards it, avoiding answering Clarke's question.

Finn Collins. His file said that he was always spending time either with Griffin, or Reyes. A college love triangle, perhaps? Lexa doesn't know - but she does know that this boy must have been important to Clarke in the same way that Costia was important to Lexa. A common ground. Lexa feels a hint of solidarity and fondness for the other woman; knowing that Clarke has felt loss in the same way Lexa has...it makes Lexa feel relieved. Relieved that she is not the only person she knows who has gone through the same kinds of suffering. That someone like Clarke Griffin feels the same kind of pain, too. Lexa can only hope that their plan to explain everything to her team will work out.

They park in the front of the warehouse. Lexa turns the engine off, and the two sit there in silence for a little longer. Lexa clears her throat, deciding to answer Clarke's question.

"It doesn't. But it gets easier to deal with."

Clarke just nods again. Lexa shifts awkwardly in her seat, unsure of what else to say - reassuring the other woman hardly seems necessary. She decides to immediately divert back to business matters.

"Shall we?"

The blonde gives Lexa a firm smile and a nod, and the two make their way into the warehouse.

The warehouse itself is ordinary; it's a storage warehouse, used by civilians - but the storage compartment Lexa and her team uses contains a highly-secured elevator that leads down to The Basement.

"A warehouse. Wow," Clarke mutters, following Lexa towards the storage room. "You would never think that top-secret government agents gather here."

Lexa can't help the smirk that appears on her face in response to Clarke's sarcasm, but she quickly wipes it off her face as they approach the storage compartment containing the elevator. She punches in her assigned code, and she hears the doors unlock. "No sudden movements," she murmurs to Clarke, "If they think you pose even a remote threat, they'll shoot."

"Okay. I'm armed. Is that going to fly with them?" Clarke says, following Lexa into the compartment, where the doors to an elevator is revealed.

Lexa hits the "down" button, then enters the elevator as it arrives. Clarke follows close behind. "If they pat you down, they'll likely find the gun tucked into your pants. And the one in your inner jacket pocket. Maybe the knife holstered on your ankle, if they find it."

Clarke quickly glances down at her ankle, then back up at Lexa. "How did you - The Intersect?"

"Common sense," Lexa says, giving Clarke an amused, sidelong glance as they arrive on their floor. Lexa takes a deep breath as the doors open.

The Basement is a sprawling area, with a conference room, a lab, three rooms with bunk-beds, and three bathrooms. It was initially meant for agents to use as a permanent, live-in base, but, surprisingly enough, no one wanted to live in a windowless underground government base in the middle of nowhere. Lexa doesn't think she would have minded it.

"They'll be waiting in the conference room." Lexa gestures to her left, where the large, wooden doors at the end are. "Are you ready?"

Lexa doesn't even have time to turn to look at her before Clarke starts walking towards the doors, on her own. Goddamn it. She quickly follows behind the other woman as she opens the door, and she's hardly surprised at the reaction that follows.

Indra whirls around in her seat, immediately recognizes Clarke, and lunges for the gun sitting on the table. Anya stands, but does not arm herself. Clarke raises both of her hands in submission as Indra points the gun directly at her head. General Terram is on the screen - the look of confusion on his face immediately switches to a livid one when he sees Lexa.

"Wilde," he says. "What is happening?"

"Stand down, Indra," Lexa says, staring straight at Gustus. Indra reluctantly lowers her gun, but does not let go of it. "General, let me explain -"

Gustus doesn't let Lexa speak any further. "Arrest her!"

Indra is the first to move towards Clarke, and Lexa meets Anya's eyes; they're full of question, and the slightest hint of fear flickers behind them. Suddenly, Clarke speaks.

"Your son," she says to the General. "I can tell you what happened to your son."

Lexa watches Clarke in wonder. The fire is back in the blonde's eyes again - the same kind that Lexa saw in their first encounter. Clarke is surrounded by NSA agents in an underground base, with no way to get back home without Lexa. The fact that she has enough courage to directly address the General as such has Lexa in shock.

"Indra, wait." Terram raises a hand. His eyes glare at Clarke through the screen as Indra steps back, frustration clear in her eyes. Gustus lowers his hand. "How do you know about my son?"

"Hadwin Terram," Clarke continues, "Twenty seven years old."

The name triggers The Intersect in Lexa's brain. Hadwin Terram, the late son of Gustus - supposedly killed in a car crash on his way to guard the Intersect base. With the knowledge Clarke has given Lexa of The Intersect, Lexa immediately puts two and two together. Hadwin did not die in a car accident.

"He died in a car accident," Gustus says - but he doesn't sound convinced of it, himself. "I saw the accident, I saw his body -"

"I'm sorry, but he didn't," Clarke says simply. "Fulcrum staged it."

Anya speaks, her eyes now on the blonde. "Fulcrum?"

Clarke nods, her eyes still on Gustus.

She launches into the same explanation she gave to Lexa in her apartment, and Lexa sees Anya sit and sink into her chair. Indra stands still, her expression unchanged.

"...Your son was one of the test subjects," she concludes. "His brain couldn't handle it, and Fulcrum wouldn't dare tell anyone that the son of a general had been killed by their experiments. So, they used their resources to stage a car accident. The accident happened seven hours after he had been declared brain dead by Fulcrum. It just doesn't add up."

"How do you know all of this?" Gustus's voice is quiet.

"I have hackers," Clarke says. "We know more about Fulcrum than Fulcrum does, itself."

Lexa speaks from Clarke's side. "Costia was killed because of The Intersect."

At this, the general stirs. "Agent Abramov was killed because she murdered innocent programmers -"

Clarke interrupts. "No one in Fulcrum is innocent. Every single one of them had opted to test The Intersect on agents."

"What are you suggesting?" The general is growing impatient. Lexa can tell. Clarke needs to tell him whatever plan she has brewing in her head, soon.

"I can get you proof." Clarke reaches into her inner pocket, and Indra is immediately on the defence again, slowly raising her gun at the motion. Anya's hand twitches for the gun likely hidden in her inner jacket pocket. Lexa can't help but feel as if she needs to arm herself, also, but she gives Clarke the benefit of the doubt. Again.

Clarke simply rolls her eyes as she takes a paper out of her pocket, reading it briefly. "I have a contact. In London." She looks up. "They're in hiding, but they were directly involved with the NSA and Fulcrum before they decided enough was enough, and they went off the grid."

"Who is this agent?"

"I can't tell you that. Not until you give me my word that we can work together on this."

Indra lets out a frustrated growl. "You cannot be buying this, General," she hisses, whirling around to face Terram. "She is a traitor. She is merely saying what she must to get out of incarceration."

The General's gaze turns from Indra to Lexa. "What do you make of this, Wilde?"

Lexa looks over at Clarke, who seems to be watching her closely, then back at Gustus. "I believe it. Nothing about Costia's death...nothing about Hadwin's death, or any other agent that has been killed these past few months, adds up."

"Does Griffin know of your -"

"She knows I have The Intersect, yes."

The General lets out a long sigh, and pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Go with her to London," he says, voice resigned. "Monitor her closely. Stay in touch with your team. You have two weeks to come up with something substantial."

Lexa raises an eyebrow. "Two weeks before what?"

"If Griffin do not come up with anything in this time, I will make sure that she rots in prison for the rest of her young life," Gustus says. "And do not think that you will be without consequence for wasting my time, either, Agent Wilde. Two weeks."

Lexa nods once.

"Find what happened to the agents, and get me proof. Find what happened to Hadwin. Figure out what these - what Fulcrum's motives are. Am I being clear?"

"Crystal," Clarke mutters.

"Dismissed."

The screen goes black, and Indra storms off. Anya turns in the swivel chair so that she is facing the table, and wordlessly waves at the seats in front of her for Lexa and Clarke. Once they sit, she begins to speak.

"I don't know you, Griffin." she says. Lexa can't read her tone of voice - it's monotonous, and her eyes are blank. "But I will warn you now - and you, Lexa - He means what he says."

"My contact is a good one," Clarke says firmly.

"For your sake, I hope so." Anya then addresses Lexa. "I can help you prep for London. Plane tickets, weaponry, and a hotel room - but that's as far as I'll go."

"Thank you, Anya," Lexa says quietly. She can understand why - the more Anya helps Lexa and Clarke, the more likely it is that she, too, will be punished if all does not go according to plan.

Clarke clears her throat. "Is there a bathroom, here?"

"Second hallway there, on the left," Lexa says. Clarke nods, and rises from her seat to leave.

There's only about a moment of silence before Anya speaks, again.

"I can see why you trust her."

Lexa shrugs. "Not much to it. Her motives make sense."

"She reminds me of Costia. Fierce. Unwavering." Anya tilts her head. "Cute."

Lexa visibly bristles at this, and Anya sighs. "I'm just saying - be careful, Alexandra. We can't trust her yet."

"I know."

When is your next appointment with the programmers?"

Appointments with programmers are essentially checkups for The Intersect. If Clarke has been right about everything, this means that they've been keeping a log of Lexa's cranial health - and right now, Lexa feels very healthy. She remembers everything Clarke said about lobotomies, brain-probing, and she closes her eyes for a moment as she allows a wave of nausea to come and go. "Tomorrow," she breathes. "I'll go and try to figure out as much as I can, but acting normal will likely be the best course of action with them."

"I agree. Go tomorrow. Do all of the standard tests. Observe the people there. I'll book a flight for a few hours after the appointment."

"We'll need new identities - I don't want a record of this anywhere that Fulcrum can find it."

"I'll have everything prepared by tonight. I can swing by your apartment once it's done." Anya pauses. "What if Griffin is leading you into a death trap?"

"Then she leads me into a death trap," Lexa says simply. "I'll worry about it when I have to."

Clarke appears from the hallway. "Are we good to go, Lexa?"

Lexa nods. "Ready if you are."

The drive back to Clarke's campus is mostly silent. Again, Clarke is the first to break this silence.

"We need to talk more about what to do in London."

Lexa hums in assent. "I'll stay at your apartment for a bit to discuss it."

Clarke looks out of the side window. "There's a beach near campus," she murmurs. "And the sun's about to set."

"Okay?" Lexa furrows a brow. How is this relevant?

"Would you want to sit there? It's just - I've been cooped up inside all day before our meeting there, and then we were underground. I need some air."

Lexa hesitates.

"Promise I won't pull anything funny."

"Well, since Clarke Griffin has said it, it must be true," Lexa says lightheartedly. This comes easily. The knowledge that their ghosts lie on common grounds makes it easier for Lexa to relate to Clarke Griffin. "We can go."

"It's just a left on the fourth exit on the highway," Clarke says, leaning back against her seat. "Indra really doesn't like me, does she?"

Lexa smirks, exiting on the highway where Clarke has indicated. "Indra doesn't really like anyone. She's seen a lot. Misplaced her trust in many people. Don't take it too personally."

"So she pulls guns on every stranger she meets?"

"No," Lexa says, parking at the beach she assumes Clarke is talking about, "That would be me."

"Right." Clarke takes her seatbelt off, and Lexa follows, trailing behind to the beach area.

They get near the water and Clarke sits cross-legged. It's a little windy, but it offsets the heat of the sun nicely - Lexa notes the way the wind plays with Clarke's hair. She sits beside her, and looks out to the ocean. Clarke is right - the sun is setting.

"My contact in London can give us documents that would tell us everything we need to know about Fulcrum," Clarke says. "He's only ever told me about them, but now that he knows we have a force to help us, now...I think he'll give them to me."

"What's his name?"

"Marcus Kane. He's a friend of my mother's."

"Abigail Griffin."

"That's right." Clarke's gaze moves from the water to Lexa. "I'm sure you know all there is to know about that situation."

Lexa shrugs. "Just that you two are estranged. And that it's related to the execution of your father."

Clarke leans back agains the palms of her hands. "She didn't trust him enough to let him try and overtake Fulcrum. When he left to rally agents, she called the NSA. Word got back to a Fulcrum agent that Jacob Griffin was about to try and overthrow them, and..." Clarke shakes her head. Inhales, then exhales deeply. "They took over the case. Said that he was part of their organization, and that they would handle it. Then, four days later, one of your agents shows up to my door to inform me that he was involved in a car accident."

"I'm sorry."

"All because my mom didn't trust him."

Lexa's eyes squint into the sun. "I didn't trust Costia enough to listen to her when she told me to stay away from The Intersect."

"You thought she went rogue. I don't blame you." Clarke sighs. "I haven't had so much as a phone call with my mother in almost two years. The last time I saw her was at my great-grandad's funeral. I didn't even look at her the whole time."

The sun is dipping lower into the horizon now, and the sky glows pale orange. Lexa hasn't had the opportunity to sit like this and watch a sunset in a long time. She internally thanks Clarke Griffin for bringing her out here, but Lexa itches with a question.

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Clarke shakes her head and sits up, rubbing her hands together to get the sand off of them. "I guess I'm trying to convey to you that I'm a person, too. A person who's gone through a few of the same things that you've presumably gone through, too." Her voice is quiet. "And I'm not just one of your folders. You can trust me."

Lexa turns to meet Clarke's eyes. The low light of the sun makes them into an even deeper shade of blue. There is nothing but honesty and kindness and determination in them. Lexa does not respond - she only holds Clarke's gaze.

"Trust me, Lexa."

_"Okay. Do you trust me?"_

_"No."_

_"Don't be mean. Do you trust me?"_

_"Not enough to let you jump."_

_Lexa and Costia are sitting in a plane, ten thousand feet from the ground. It's Lexa's first year in the NSA - Costia is teaching Lexa how to deploy a parachute and land safely. Lexa is strapped to her partner. _

_"We're going to have to do it, eventually. Your exam is coming up, soon."_

_"Fuck. Just - just do it. Just jump -" Lexa cuts herself off with a startled yell when Costia pushes them off of the edge of the open plane. Wind whistles through her ears the whole way down, and they're tugged up suddenly when Costia deploys the parachute. _

_They land in a clearing and Lexa more or less stumbles forward when Costia unstraps her. Costia reaches forward and grabs Lexa's arm, steadying her. Lexa turns._

_"Holy shit."_

_"I know, right?"_

_"We get to do that a lot?"_

_"Yeah, rookie," Costia says, "Maybe once or twice a month. You did well." She brushes back Lexa's wind-blown hair back and smiles softly. "I'm proud of you."_

_"I can't believe I actually let you jump out of a plane while I was strapped to you."_

_"I'm glad you trust me." _

_Lexa grins, leans forward, and kisses her. "Of course I do."_

_"It's really important that you trust the people you work with, Alexandra."_

_"Another lesson? While we're alone in a clearing?"_

_"Shh. Just listen. You're going to get your trust betrayed on a few occasions as a special agent. That's guaranteed to happen. But don't let your trust for others falter as a result of it. You've got a pure heart, Alexandra. I would hate to see that ruined."_

_"Yeah, yeah," Lexa says, unclipping the harness from her waist. "I'll be fine. So long as you're here to help me through the 'betrayal of trust' thing, or whatever."_

_Costia smiles. "Of course. I love you, Lex."_

_"I love you too."_


End file.
